Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1887-01-15
DEsERTIoN FROM THE ARMY.
Fo1. the Tribune:

For the Tribune:
That the enlistment of a man te serve
for five years in the Army of the United
States is contract, and that his desertion
is simply breach OF said contract, IS
fallacy that the people should disabuse
their minds Of at once. A contract is the
agreement of two or more persons, upon a
sufficient consideration or cause, to do, or
to abstain from doing, some particular
thing. No such an agreement is made be-
tween the United State and recruit.
The recruit voluntarily presents himself
at recruiting office, and, after passing
the necessary examination, solemnly
swears to 'sserve the United States faith
fully for the period of five years, unless
sooner discharged, for such pay and al
lowances as may be granted by congress.
The considerations of d contract are neith-
er progressive nor regressive. If recruit
enlists, under contract, to render faith
full service for five years at the pay and
allowances existing at the time of his en-
listment, he would not be permitted to re-
ceive any benefit from any increase of pay
and allowances, nor could he be compel
ed to suffer any loss for any descrease Of
pay and allowances. Appropriations for
the support of the army are made annual
ly, and should congress fail to make any
provision at all, this fact would not enti
tie any soldier to his discharge, as he has
sworn to serve "for such pay and allowan
ces as shall be granted byss congress" His
contract, therefore, isilike that of every ju-
ror, of every witness, OF everys person
binding himself by an oath to perform a
certain act.
What can the Government do with the
soldier to prevent desertion?
Sections, 1896 and 1898 Title XXV-
Citizenship, of the revised statutes of the
Z. S., read as follows:
Sec. 1896. All persons who desert the
military or naval service of the United
| States x X are deemed to have volunta
rily relinquished and forfeited their rights
of citizenship, as well as their right to be-
come citizens.
As such characters as desert do not care
whether they are disfranehised or not, and
as their two years sentence added to the
time served honorably, rarely makes them
serve their full five years, they should be
sentenced to punishment commensurate
| fa ono tn
lose his birth-right. As an honorable man
would rather lose his life than be disfran
chised, let the penalty for desertion be
equal to that for felony, and sentence the
offender to at least twenty years at hard
labor.
If the question of desertion is looked.
squarely in the face, it will readily be
seen that there is no room for philanthro-
py, but that the most rigid means must be
employed to correct abuses, and then deal
with the offender as before stated.
What can the Government do with the
citizen to prevent desertion?
Sec. 5455, revised statutes. Every per-
son who entices or procures, or attempts
or endeav ors to entice or procure, any
soldier in the military service of the Unit
ed States, or who has been recruited for
such service, to desert from such service,
or who harbors, conceals, protects orr as
sists any such soldier who may have de-
serted therefrom, or who refuses to give
up and deliver such soldier on the demand
of any officer authorized to receive him,
shall be punished by imprisonment not
less than six months nor more than two
years, and by a fine not exceeding five
hundred dollars.